Gaming machines, such as slot machines, video poker machines, and the like, have been a cornerstone of the gaming industry for several years. Generally, the popularity of such machines with players is dependent on the likelihood (or perceived likelihood) of winning money at the machine and the intrinsic entertainment value of the machine relative to other available gaming options. Where the available gaming options include a number of competing machines and the expectation of winning each machine is roughly the same (or believed to be the same), players are most likely to be attracted to the most entertaining and exciting of the machines.
Consequently, shrewd operators strive to employ the most entertaining and exciting machines available because such machines attract frequent play and, hence, increase profitability to the operator. In the competitive gaming machine industry, there is a continuing need for gaming machine manufacturers to produce new types of games, or enhancements to existing games, which will attract frequent play by increasing the entertainment value and excitement associated with the game.
One concept that has been successfully employed to enhance the entertainment value of a game is that of a “secondary” or “bonus” game which may be played in conjunction with a “basic” game. The bonus game, which is entered upon the occurrence of a selected event or outcome of the basic game, may comprise any type of game, either similar to or completely different from the basic game. Such a bonus game produces a significantly higher level of player excitement than the basic game because it provides a greater expectation of winning than the basic game.
Another concept that has been employed to enhance player entertainment is the use of progressive games. In the gaming industry, a “progressive” game involves collecting coin-in data from participating gaming device(s) (e.g., slot machines), contributing a percentage of that coin-in data to a progressive jackpot amount, and awarding that jackpot amount to a player upon the occurrence of a certain jackpot-won event. A jackpot-won event typically occurs when a “progressive winning position” is achieved at a participating gaming device. If the gaming device is a slot machine, a progressive winning position may, for example, correspond to alignment of progressive jackpot reel symbols along a certain payline. The initial progressive jackpot is a predetermined minimum amount. That jackpot amount, however, progressively increases as players continue to play the gaming machine without winning the jackpot. Further, when several gaming machines are linked together such that several players at several gaming machines compete for the same jackpot, the jackpot progressively increases at a much faster rate, which leads to further player excitement.
In the existing progressive games, the progressive jackpot is available to anyone who is playing at a gaming terminal that is participating in the progressive game. While playing at the gaming terminals, players participating in the progressive game are excited about the possibility of winning a progressive jackpot amount that continues to increase as players continue to play. Once players conclude their gaming sessions at the gaming terminals, however, they often feel as though they have lost all chances of winning, and their sense of excitement is diminished. In particular, any expectations the players have of winning the progressive game are ended once they leave the gaming terminal.
While some progressive game features provide some enhanced excitement, there is a continuing need to develop new features for progressive games to satisfy the demands of players and operators. Preferably, such new features for progressive games will further enhance the level of player excitement. The present invention is directed to satisfying these needs in that it enables players to continue to feel the sense of excitement after the progressive gaming session has ended by providing a novel progressive game that allows players to continue to be eligible to win a progressive jackpot amount after their gaming session has ended.